The Trump administration on Monday rejected all maritime claims made by China in the South China Sea and accused Beijing of "threatening" its neighbors to control resources in the region.
Changes in U.S. policy are likely to further fuel US-China tensions and provoke Beijing's retaliatory measures.
The decision, announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, covers everything from trade between Washington and Beijing to the coronavirus epidemic. Earlier on Monday, China imposed sanctions on three Chinese lawmakers, including Senator Marco Rubio and R-Flea. - A few days after Chinese authorities imposed similar punishments on Chinese officials, Muslim extremists in China's Xinjiang province have blamed the violence for forcibly sterilizing minorities.
Pompeii’s decision to dismiss China’s claims in the South China Sea may prove to be an even more important flashpoint, especially as the region has significant oil and natural gas reserves, as well as fisheries. China has made extensive claims about sovereignty over the sea - and mostly unused oil and natural gas. Other countries include islands and various areas in the South China Sea, such as the Spratly Islands, which have rich natural resources and fishing grounds.
"Pompeo said in a statement on Monday that Beijing was using threats to threaten the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the South China Sea, substituting international law for their arbitrary dominance."
"We make it clear: Beijing's claims for offshore resources in most parts of the South China Sea are completely illegal, and there is even a threatening campaign to control them," he said.
Julian Koo, a professor of constitutional law at Hofstra University, wrote on Twitter that the State Department's position was "legally correct ... and long-standing." "I think the ban on any company doing business in illegally occupied Chinese waters is clear in the next step."
Gregory B. Polling, director of the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said Pompeii's statement was important but needed additional action to stop China's expansionist policies.
"This is the first step in a long-running campaign to expose China's illegal behavior and support the Allies," Polling tweeted.
Earlier, U.S. policy stated that maritime disputes between China and its neighbors should be resolved peacefully through international mediation.
Pompeo said Beijing was "using threats to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asia's coasts in the South China Sea, granting exemptions from offshore resources" due to China's continuing trade and maritime freedom. And ignoring international law.
"The world will not allow the South China Sea to be considered its maritime empire," he said.
However, the practical impact of the statement was not immediately apparent.
Although the United States continues to remain neutral in regional disputes, it has maintained administration with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, all of which have resisted China's claims to sovereignty over the island's territories, dunes and surrounding seas. Shoals.
Although the Pentagon has deployed warships and aircraft to patrol waterways and promote freedom of navigation in the area, the United States has no claims for water.
China regularly claims goods for almost all of the South China Sea and any U.S. military presence. The other five governments claim all or part of the ocean, through which approximately tr 5 trillion goods are shipped each year.
Last week, China complained that the U.S. military was conducting joint exercises with two Americans
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